Tuesday, 12 March 2019

THE High Court has ordered Home Affairsand Cultural Heritage Minister Cain Mathema
and three police detectives to pay an injiva US$5 000 as compensation following
his unlawful arrest and detention on false allegations of driving a stolen
South African registered car.

Mr Bongani Ncube was driving to Livingstone, Zambia, when
he was intercepted by detectives manning the exit gate at the Victoria Falls
Border Post.

The cops accused Mr Ncube, who is based in South Africa, of
driving a stolen car and using fake vehicle registration papers.

Mr Ncube sought to be compensated US$50 000 in damages for
wrongful and unlawful deprivation of liberty by the defendants.

However, Justice Makonese, using his discretion, ordered
the defendants to pay the plaintiff US$5 000 as quantum of damages including
the legal costs he incurred.

“In the result it is ordered that the defendants are
ordered to pay damages in the sum of US$5 000 jointly and severally, the one
paying the other to be absolved together with interest at the prescribed rate,”
ruled the judge.

Justice Makonese said the arresting officer, Det Const
Sibanda, was overzealous and acted irrationally without bothering to first
verify the documents.

“The first defendant (Det Const Sibanda) acted irrationally
and with haste. He failed to execute his duties diligently and as a result
recklessly came to a wrong conclusion of the fact that the motor vehicle was
suspected to have been stolen. In view of the fact that the plaintiff has been
unnecessarily put out of pocket by defendants, he is entitled to a full
recovery of his costs on the higher scale,” he said.

Justice Makonese said the arrest of Mr Ncube and the
subsequent impounding of his car, a Hyundai 1X35, was triggered by mere
suspicion.

The authenticity of the documents of the car, which Mr
Ncube bought through hire purchase, was verified through an email from his bank
in South Africa.

According court papers, on April 4 in 2017, Mr Ncube, in
the company of his brother Ndodana, arrived at the border between Zimbabwe and
Zambia in Victoria Falls enroute to Zambia driving his car.

Upon completing immigration formalities, they proceeded to
the exit gate of the border where they were intercepted by two police officers
manning the gate.

They informed Mr Ncube that his car registration papers
were not genuine and ordered him to drive the car to Victoria Falls Police
Station where they impounded the car and detained him.

On the following day, Mr Ncube’s car was released after he
was told that it had been cleared with Interpol.

In his summons, Mr Ncube argued that the defendants
violated his constitutional right to personal liberty when they arrested him on
false allegations of car theft.

In their defence, through the Civil Division in the
Attorney General’s Office, the defendants contended that they were carrying out
their mandate in terms of the constitution which provides that police should
detect, investigate and prevent crime. Chronicle